Booth table support



May 30 1950 A, F, BUDD 2,509,332

BOOTH TABLE SUPPORT Filed Aug. 20. 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aff; f

Q fb f@ INVENTOR. /9 7" 2? Za 7177. .Ba daf May 30 195o Y A, F, Bunn 509,332

BOOTH TABLE SUPPORT Fim:l mg. 261; 19218 2 sheet'sf-'shee'f 2 INVENTOR. Afm VEB@ .f/Qf 43 BY WMM www Patented May 30,- 1950 NITED STATES ?TENT OFFLCE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to booth tables, and more particularly to a booth table support providing lateral swinging of the outer end of the table to facilitate entry into and egress from the booth.

The majority of restaurants, drugstores and cafeteras now utilize wall booths in which a narrow table extends horizontally outward from the building wall and two benches are disposed one along each side of the table. In order to provide comfortable seating at the table, the benches must be so close to the table as to render it difficult to enter and leave the booth.

It is, therefore, among the objects of the present invention to provide a table support which will provide a limited swinging movement of the outer end oi the table so that the table can be moved to one side or the other to permit a person to comfortably enter or leave the booth at the side of the table opposite to that toward which the table is moved, which support is effective to rigidly support the table from a building `wall and to releasably loch the table in normal position midway between the two benches of the booth, is simple and durable in construction, and which is positioned entirely above the floor and does not project into the space below the table or interfere in any way with the occupants of the booth.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a booth showing in dotted lines a table support illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the booth Shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical, medial cross sectional view booth, taken substantially on, the line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view of the booth table and support, taken substantially on the line :i-ll of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a top plan View of a bearing plate constituting an operative component of the assembly;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a slotted hatten also -constituting an operative component of the assembly; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of` a modified form of table-supporting wall bracket.

With. continued reference to the drawings, the booth, generally indicated at l0, is disposed along a building wall l l and includes two spaced-apart, substantially parallel benches l2 extending outwardly from the wall substantially perpendicular thereto, and a table and support assembly, generally indicated at I3, mounted on the wall I0 between the two benches I2 and extending outwardly from the wall between the benches.

The table itself is a generally rectangular, somewhat elongated, flat body lll which may be formed of wood, metal, a synthetic resin plastic or other material, or any desired combination of such materials, and is supported on an L-shaped wall bracket, generally indicated at l5.

The bracket l5 may be formed. of suitable sheet metaland is of channehshaped cross-section having a continuous web lli and lateral flanges il extending, one along each edge of the web. The bracket has a short leg i8, the web portion of which is apertured to receive screws or bolts `I9 by means of which the bracket is secured to the building wall Il, and has a longer leg 2G underlying the table ill substantially centered relative to the width of the table. The flanges` Il are tapered along both of the legs i3 and 2li from the jointure of the two legs, that is, the location at which the bracket is bent to provide the two legs i8 and 20 disposed substantially perpendicular to each other.

A at bearing plate 2l having a centrally-apertured, substantially circular intermediate portion 22 and two oppositely-extending, substantially rectangular projections 23 is secured to the under surface of the table i4 near one end of the latter by suitable means, such as screws, extending through suitable apertures provided in the bearing plate around the central opening or aperture thereof. A bolt 24 is received in the central aperture of the bearing plate and projects outwardly therefrom awayfrom` the table lil and is rotatably received in an aperture provided in the web portion of the bracket leg 2G adjacent the wallattached leg i8. The outer end of this bolt is externally screw-threaded and receives a pair of locking nuts 25 and a spring `washer 25 is disposed between these nuts and the under surface of the web l-ii to hold the bearing plate in hrm contact with the outer surface of the bracket web.

` A batten, generally indicated at 21, and particularly illustrated in Figure 6, is secured to the `under surface of the table It transversely of the latter and adjacent the outer end of the bracket leg 20. This batten may conveniently comprise a channel member 28 and a flat bar 29 held in spaced relationship relative to the web of the channel member by spacers 30 interposed between the channel member and the bar at the ends thereof. The space between the web of the channel member 28 and the bar 29 provides a longitudinally-extending slot 3l, and apertures 32 are provided one in each end of the batten for the reception of `suitable screws or bolts by means of which the batten is secured to the under surface of the table.

The outer end of the bracket leg 20 is provided with lan outwardly-extending tongue 33 received in the slot 3l of the batten and with a downwardly-extending apertured lug 34 disposed inwardly of the tongue and substantially at right angles thereto. The batten is apertured adjacent its mid-length location, as indicated at 35, to receive a latch bolt, and a latch bolt 36 is slidably mounted in the batten and engageable in the aperture of the lug 34 to releasably lock the table in its normal position in which it is substantially equally spaced from the two benches I2 of the booth.

A handle 31, in the form of a bell crank, is A pivotally mounted on the under surface of the table adjacent the outer end of the latter and is pivotally connected to the outer end of the latch bolt 36 for retracting the latch bolt from the lug 34 so that the outer end of the table may be swung about the pivot bolt 24 to move the outer end of the table away from one or the other ofthe benches I2. The latch bolt is resiliently urged into engagement in the aperture of lug 34 by a suitable tension spring 38 operatively connected between the handle 3l and the under side of the table I4.

It will be noted that the bracket I rigidly supports the table I4 from the wall II and is disposed entirely above the iloor upon which the booth is installed, and that no part of the table support projects downwardly into the space below the table to an extent such as to cause any interference with occupants of the booth. The table is easily movable, when unlatched, so that its outer end may be swung away from either of the benches to permit easy entry into and egress from the booth, and at the same time is firmly supported against any tilting or rocking movement, and, when latched, against any swinging movement so that there is no danger of any accidental movement of the table.

The bracket I5 has a curved bend between the two legs thereof and may be formed by well known forging or pressing methods to bend the flanges about the curved bend of the bracket.

The modified bracket illustrated in Figure 7 has a substantially sharp, right-angled bend, and the ends of the flanges at the bend are mitered together. This modified bracket may be manufactured without expensive equipment by cut-' ting and welding the necessary parts together, and may in some instances be cheaper or more convenient to manufacture than the bracket l5 described above. The modied bracket, generally indicated at 40, functions in exactly the same manner as the bracket I5 and is generally similar in construction, having a. w-all-attachable leg 4I, a table-supporting leg 42 longer than the leg 4i, an outwardly-extending tongue 43 at the outer` end of the table-supporting leg, a struck-out, downwardly-extending, apertured lug 44 at the inner end of tongue 43, and a bolt-receiving aperture 45 in the web portion thereof adjacent the leg 4I. The legs of the modiiied bracket are of channel-shaped cross-section, the lateral flanges being provided, in this case, as separate pieces welded or otherwise permanently secured to the web pieces of the bracket.

The invention may be embodied in other specic forms without departing from the spirit o1' essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

l. A booth table support comprising an L- shaped bracket having one leg attachable to a building wall and its other leg extendable outwardly from the wall to underlie and support a table, a bearing plate pivotally secured to said other bracket leg and bearing upon the upper surface of the latter adjacent said one leg, said bearing plate being attachable to the under surface of the table, a longitudinally-slotted batteri attachable to the under surface of the table to extend transversely of the latter adjacent the outer end of said other bracket leg, said bracket leg having at its outer end an outwardly-extending tongue slidably received in the slot of said batteri and having adjacent said tongue a downwardly-turned, apertured lug, lock means carried by said batten and engageable in the aperture of said lug, and a lock handle operatively connected to said lock means and attachable to the under side of said table adjacent the outer end of the latter.

2. A booth table and support assembly comprising an L-shaped bracket of channel-shaped crass-section having one leg attachable to a building wall and its other leg provided at its outer end with an outwardly-extending tongue and an apertured lug disposed substantially at right angles to said tongue at the inner end of the latter, a generally rectangular, iiat table, a bearplate secured to the under side of said table adjacent one end of the latter, a bolt secured to and projecting outwardly from the center of said bearing plate, said other leg of said bracket having in the web portion thereof an aperture rotatably receiving said bolt, a nut on the end oi said bolt opposite said bearing plate, a, spring washer on said bolt between said nut and the innerl surface of the web of said other bracket leg for holding said bearing plate in firm contact with the outer surface of said web, a longitudinally-slotted batten secured to the under surface of said table adjacent the outer end of said other bracket leg and slidably receiving said tongue, said batten being transversely apertured adjacent the mid-length location thereof to receive a lock bolt, a lock bolt slidably mounted in said batten and engageable with said apertured lug, spring means resiliently urging said bolt into engagement with said lug, and a handle secured to the under side of said table adjacent the outer end of the latter and operatively connected to said bolt to retract said bolt from said lug.

ARTHUR F. BUDD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 640,736 Biester Jan. 9, 1900 1,597,081 Lyon Aug. 24, 1926 1,983,559 Noll, Sr Dec. 11, 1934 2,307,396 Draxler Jan. 5, 1943 2,332,291 Binz Oct. 19, 1943 2,346,985 Mercur Apr. 18, 1944 2,357,668 Laham Sept. 5, 1944 2,360,474 Cederquist Oct. 17, 1944 2,396,242 Binz Mar. 12, 1946 

